In 2016, Heineken released a limited edition beer called H41 as part of their Lager Explorations series. Haven’t heard of H41? That’s understandable – it was only released in the Netherlands and Italy. When I first hear about the beer I was rather intrigued because this isn’t just another Heineken. This is Heineken fermented with Saccharomyces eubayanus.

In what seems to be a departure from the norm at Heineken, they decided to explore some creativity by becoming the first commercial brewer to use S. eubayanus. Heineken purchased the patent rights to brew with S. eubayanus in 2015. This was indeed a bold move, as there was no precedent for brewing with this yeast. But “Using [their] unrivalled expertise, Heineken®’s Master Brewers began to work with the mother yeast to unlock a spectrum of new flavours.”, according to their press release. (I guess their unrivaled expertise means first killing the yeast.) Heineken managed to break their own mold to make a unique beer that they describe as a “new lager has a fuller taste, with spicy notes balanced by subtle fruity hints”. Sounds like eubayanus to me.

For quite awhile I was dying to get my hands on a bottle of this beer, but with no trips to Italy or the Netherlands coming up I figured it would never happen. However, I was talking to a colleague about his upcoming vacation and it turned out he was traveling to Italy, at which point I not-so-subtly asked him to keep an eye out for H41. Much to my surprise and delight, upon his return there awaited a three-pack of H41 in my cubical.

After a seemingly long day at work, I rushed home and cracked open a bottle. It poured like a Heineken (nice white head), it looked like a Heineken (clear golden color), but it didn’t smell or taste like Heineken. The aroma was unrefined, almost a little musty and unmistakably S. eubayanus. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied – more so than most light lagers – with medium carbonation. The flavors were very similar to the eubayanus beers I had previously brewed. It was slightly phenolic and spicy with an ester profile not typical of any ale or lager yeast I’ve ever tasted. There was some apple/pear fruitiness unique to most eubayanus beers with a somewhat rustic flavor shared by many saison yeast strains. Basically, it tasted like Heineken fermented with S. eubayanus.

H41 was a well brewed beer that highlighted the desirable flavor profile of S. eubayanus. Will it be a global sensation? I doubt it. It is definitely a novelty beer and one worth seeking if you get over to Italy or the Netherlands before they discontinue it.

Welcome

Shanty Brewery is a shout out to my hometown where the community center sign proudly proclaimed "Home of the Shanty Beans". Obscure, right?

My brewing philosophy is to simply brew. My recipes aren't elaborate, and my equipment is just a mash tun cooler, a pot, a burner, and a couple plastic bucket fermentors. While I prefer a simplistic approach to brewing, I do put a lot of effort into yeast. I maintain my own yeast bank, and am always looking for new strains. My hope is that you find some practical, valuable information on this site on yeast and brewing.

There is not a lot of information out there about brewing with S. eubayanus, so I decided to review the literature and write up what is currently known. For those who don't want to read through all the technical details, here's a summary:

Lager yeasts are hybrids between two species - Saccharomyces cerivisiae (ale yeast) and Saccharomyces eubayanus (found on trees in Patagonia, Wisconson, and China, so far). There is not a lot of information on fermenting with S. eubayanus, but what is known shows that it is very similar to some lager stains. The full potential of using S. eubayanus in brewing is yet to be discovered.

It's tough for me to do the same thing twice. I think that's one of the things that keeps me from ever wanting to turn pro. I enjoy changing things up just to see what happens. I typically find myself doing split batches on most brew days to test something out, whether it's to compare yeast strains, hop varieties, fermentation temperatures.

I hesitate to call these actual experiments. They're more like comparisons. Nonetheless, here are highlights of a few things I've done.

I decided to make my own brewsheet because it gives me great flexibility to edit and control each parameter according to my brewing equipment and method. I can also take it anywhere with me, and access my files on any computer.

I'm not much of a writer, so please pardon the sparse blog entries. I try to write posts on what I think is important and would benefit other people.